1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dental hygiene appliances. More particularly, the present invention relates to a compact, disposable finger-mount toothbrush and kit.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many examples of compact toothbrushes such as travel toothbrushes which have removable handles which may be compactly stored in a kit or the like. The kit may also include a tube of toothpaste. Also known are finger-mount toothbrushes. These brushes are of two general types. One type has a brush on the end of a flexible finger cover or glove. Another type is placed on an index finger in the manner of a finger ring.
One problem with known designs, particularly those employing a flexible cover for the finger, is keeping the toothbrush bristles from rotating or pulling away from the finger during use. Many of the finger ring type also suffer from instability of placement relative to the finger and teeth during use. The finger ring type does not have a brush cover for single or multiple use and is either not provided in a kit including toothpaste, have a complicated, unreliable design for applying toothpaste to the bristles, or require a separate toothpaste tube either in the kit or separate therefrom.
It would be desirable to provide a compact, finger-mount toothbrush which may be used once and disposed of or repeatedly used, having a removable and replaceable cover for the bristles, the bristles having a single use portion of toothpaste provided directly on the bristles of the toothbrush. It would also be desirable that the compact toothbrush requires minimum manipulation to use. This would be particularly useful for photography and moving picture studios where a subject or actor may require a quick brushing. In such settings time is valuable and a compact toothbrush ready to use with minimum preparation effort is highly desirable. It would also be desirable that such a toothbrush be reusable, if desired, for the duration of a trip, etc., yet simple, compact, and inherently inexpensive to allow for disposable, one-time use.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a compact disposable finger-mount toothbrush solving the aforementioned problems is desired.